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Rhys cocks his head. “But he mentioned her before?”
Angela frowns. “She was a very beautiful girl, agent. Of course he noticed her. All the men at the bar did.” She glances at her friends. “She was once this big model, I heard.”
“Do you know where Kohen is now?” I ask.
Vinnie hesitates, and Angela notices. “Oh, you old hussie.”
“What? A cougar’s got to eat. Shoot.” Vinnie looks up at us. “It was just the one time, but he took me back to his place.” She gives us the address and directions.
Angela hmphs. “Sounds like you’ve been there more than once.”
I speak up. “Can any of you ladies recall seeing either Mike or Torrance working the night of March twenty-third?”
“The night Joanna died, you mean?” Vinnie says. I nod. “I’m sorry, hon. I can’t say for sure. Too many mimosas, and too many of the same kind of days all run together.” The other women agree to this.
“Well, thank you, ladies.” Rhys interrupts before they can derail the conversation again. “I believe that’s all we need at this time. We appreciate your cooperation. The government extends its gratitude, also.”
We start off, but Vinnie catches my pant leg, letting Rhys get a few steps ahead. “Little advice, darling. That one there is a bundle of sexual tension just waiting to erupt. You take care of that man before he blows. Boy, I’d love to be the one to release the pressure on that steamy kettle.”
The women nod in agreement, and a warm flush prickles my cheeks. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”
I’m able to pry myself away from the beach bunnies before they can start in on my lack of love life. I have a feeling that was next on their agenda. When I catch up to Rhys, I notice his slight limp as he navigates the boardwalk.
I slip on my shoes. “Is the sand bothering your leg?”
He noticeably corrects his gait. “Not too bad. It’s a good workout, though. I just need to strengthen the
muscles.” Then he switches the topic. “What else did the beach bunnies have to say?”
I reach into my bag and dig out my phone to stop the recorder. “Nothing relevant.”
He glances back at me, but says nothing. I can see it in his steel-gray eyes, though. He somehow knows. “How do you do that?” I ask.
He walks ahead. “Do what?”
“Nothing,” I say, because he knows exactly what I mean, and he’ll only deny it. I may have knowledge and skilled insight into people due to my years devoted to study, but he was born with an inherent intuition. I admit that it makes me jealous.
As we merge onto the pavement of the beach parking lot, I ease up beside him. “You only dismiss psychology because you don’t need it to do your job,” I say. “You read people naturally.”
He clicks the key fob to unlock the sedan. “I don’t dismiss it. I just think there’s more than that to people. And you have to use it all to work a case.”
I stare at him for a moment. “I agree. But since I don’t possess that natural ability—”
“You do,” he says, then turns to look at me. “Just learn to trust it.”
I hold his gaze, wondering what he sees that I don’t when I look in the mirror. His phone rings, the interruption allowing me out of a critical self-analysis.
“Markus, what do have?” Rhys holds his phone to his ear as he stares out over the sand dunes. “Okay, thanks. Go ahead and forward the reports to me.” He ends the call. “Background checks on Mike and Torrance came back. I had Markus dig deeper into Torrance this time around.”
Torrance wasn’t a suspect or even much of a person of interest when we were working my case. His alibi was solid. “Anything come up?”
His shoulders deflate. “Nothing much. A few bad checks on Mike’s part. Some past due payments to venders.”
I frown. “And Torrance?”
He pockets his phone. “One expunged assault record. Victim was a sixteen-year old girl.” He heads toward the car and opens the driver-side door. “You can read me the file on our way to Kohen’s place.”
Expunged could mean the charge was sealed because he was a minor at the time.
